Recent news reports notwithstanding, the hot news is that Kane Douglas may very well be heading back to Oz to link up with the Wallabies shortly.
Yesterday, the illustrious Sydney Morning Herald reported Michael Cheika as saying that if Douglas was to sign with a Super Rugby team, the big lock would come under strong consideration for the national team. Having played only 14 times for the Wallabies, Douglas comes nowhere near the “Giteau clause” exception to the ARU’s policy of selecting only home-based players for the Wallabies unless they’ve played 60+ tests and held an ARU deal for 7+ years.
Yesterday, Cheika denied knowing of any ARU approaches regarding Douglas’ availability.
“I only know what I’m hearing … I’m hearing there’s some noise he wants to come home,” Cheika said. “If he is coming back to Australia to play and signs with an Australian Super Rugby team, of course we’d be interested in providing a top-up. But I think he’s still in contract in Europe.”
Either Cheika was obfuscating, or he isn’t in the loop.
Leinsterrugby.ie has Leinster Rugby Team Manager Guy Easterby confirming that a formal request from the ARU was received last Friday afternoon.
“We are delighted for Kane and wish him well as he seeks the form and fitness required for selection for the Rugby Championship and, of course, the Rugby World Cup after that,” he said. Easterby added: “We have been in discussions with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and with Kane for a few weeks now and we have made our position very clear. Kane is contracted to Leinster Rugby for another two seasons and we look forward to welcoming him back when his commitments with the ARU come to an end.”
Sounds pretty unequivocal to me – and that’s why you get your rugby news here and not elsewhere.
Douglas is recovering from back surgery, which by all accounts went gangbusters. Conditioning might still be an issue. At some 6 feet 6 in the old money and close to 120 kg, Douglas offers a more physical type of lock presence to the existing options. If Will Skelton has long been the Mountain That Rides, Kane’s new look is quite reminiscent of the Hound. Quite the combo. It nothing else, the lengths the ARU is going to is a searing indictment of the dearth of quality Wallaby-eligible locks.
The big ex-Waratah had a breakout season in the Tah’s title-winning 2014 year. He then signed a three year deal with Leinster when the ARU preferred to give Sam Carter a three-year deal back home, for reasons passing understanding. Now, just a short time later, the ARU is about to throw their brand new, and generally well-received, player policy under the bus to secure the guy they turned down.
Stay tuned for more.
